Hubble Telescope Engineer Pulls Double Duty As Real-Life Knight

by SPACE.com Staff | September 01, 2010 07:35am ET

Edward Cheung, long-time principal engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope Development Project was recently dubbed Knight of the Royal Order of the Netherlands Lion. In this picture, the Governor of Aruba, Fredis Refunjol, fastens the royal decoration to Cheung’s jacket.Credit: Edward Cheung

A
long-time NASA engineer working on the Hubble Space Telescope ?is now a
full-fledged knight in the Netherlands due to his work to help keep the
renowned 20-year-old space observatory in working order.

Edward
Cheung, an engineer who develops electrical systems and solutions for the Hubble Space Telescope, was knighted on June 12 by Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands, in recognition of his accomplishments on Hubble and his work in
educating the youth of his native Aruba (an island country belonging to the Kingdom
of the Netherlands).

Cheung
now lives in Greenbelt, Md., where he works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. He joined the Royal Order of the Netherlands Lion ?
the highest civilian order in the Dutch kingdom.

The
Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990, and has been visited by astronauts
five times in 20 years for repairs or upgrades to its systems.

Cheung's
knighthood marked the first time that the Order of the Netherlands Lion has
been awarded to a native-born citizen of Aruba. The honor has been conferred
upon eight people so far this year.

Cheung
completed his undergraduate studies at Worchester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester,
Mass., and followed up with a Ph.D. in robotics from Yale University in New
Haven, Conn. During this time, Cheung completed
a summer internship at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Recognizing
that Goddard was emerging as a hub for building flight hardware, Cheung later moved
to Maryland to take part, according to a NASA profile.

In
1996, Cheung joined the Hubble Space Telescope development team and began work
on such critical systems as the HST Orbital System Test and the Near Infrared
Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer cryogenic cooler.

All
the while, he continued to give guest lectures at schools and universities in
Aruba.

In
March 2002, Cheung's outreach efforts expanded even more with the launch of the
ASCS/NCS Relay Unit Breaker Assembly or "ARUBA" box on the space
shuttle Columbia's STS-109 mission to service the Hubble.

By
naming the device after his country, Cheung captured the attention of the
nation and generated public interest in technology and science in the process.?

"It
had a critical function to correct a fault that could compromise Hubble,"
Cheung said of the servicing mission in a statement. "The crew
would be handling and interfacing with this box during installation. They would
say the word 'Aruba' in space ? perhaps for the first time."

Citizens
of the island nation watched and cheered when Columbia astronaut John Grunsfeld
declared the installation of ARUBA on Hubble a success.

"Outside
the walls of a NASA center, far away in a country like Aruba, NASA's brand is
very strong, and we have a lot to be proud of," Cheung said. "I want
us to know that our work is important and that we should derive inspiration
from that, just like many who are deciding their careers derive inspiration
from NASA."

Cheung has
said his family is a strong reminder of the importance of his work.

"Looking
at my kids, who are extremely keen on astronomy, makes me realize what an amazing legacy Hubble is," he said.